Taming the Fates Amidst Chaos

'Internal thought'

'CHAOS SPEAKING'

~ (Time and/or story focus shift)

Chapter 13

Reno couldn't believe it. Not only was his boss ordering him to lose, he was being ordered to lose to a rather pissed off demon. Sure, he had been to the briefings and had heard the run down on Valentine. However, there was a significant difference in talking about it and standing in the same room as the growling, winged reality.

'Well,' Reno thought with a smirk as he switched on the Electro Rod, 'Just because I gotta lose, doesn't mean I'm going down without a fight.' The redhead Turk leaped forward, digging the rod into the demon's side. "Come on Fido, let's see what you got!" he shouted as he dodged a clawed hand.

The smell of burnt flesh filled the room as Chaos turned to face Reno, an amused grin on the pale face, "Seems at least one of the dogs has a bite. I might actually have some fun with you, manling."

Tseng quietly moved away from the dresser, swinging the heavy collar towards the demon's head. His momentum was quickly cut off and he let out a harsh cry of pain as the bones in his arm snapped from Chaos' vice-like grip. "I'll take that."

Reno gaped in amazement. The demon hadn't even turned his cold golden eyes away from the redhead, yet he had easily caught Tseng. 'Don't know if we would have had a chance even if we were trying to win here.' Chaos ripped the silver collar from the Wutaian's grasp before throwing him at the redhead. The two Turks crashed to the floor but quickly regained their feet, Tseng favoring his left arm. The men glanced at each other and nodded, moving to take the offensive again. Reno leaped high in the air, aiming the Electro Rod for the demon's skull as Tseng kicked low to bring Chaos' feet out from under him. The dark haired demon simply shook his head and laughed at their attempts. Pinning the Wutaian's leg under his foot, he then snatched the redhead by the hair and slammed him against the wall.

Reno let out a groan as his feet dangled several inches off the floor. Dazed green eyes fluttered open meeting with a chilling gold. The Turk couldn't suppress a shudder as he stared into those depths. There was something dark, dangerous, and strangely...beautiful in that gaze. He felt a strange jolt in his groin and mentally slapped himself, 'Everyone says I flirt with disaster but this is ridiculous! This thing could easily kill me and Tseng without so much as the blink of an eye.' He heard a low chuckle issue from the demon in front of him and squirmed with the distinct feeling that Chaos knew what he was thinking. The collar clinked as the demon adjusted his grip and brought a clawed finger to the Turk's face. Reno let out a hiss as he felt a warm trickle of blood run down his cheek. Another chuckle echoed in the room and the redhead found himself growling in irritation, "What do you find so funny, you freak of nature?"

"Your blood is darker."

Confusion briefly registered in green eyes before the world went painfully black.

~

Rufus Shinra hated interruptions. He was in the middle of a rather important conference call when the sound of an explosion came from outside his doorway. The crack of gunfire was soon heard as well but that quickly died out. Sighing in frustration, Rufus turned his attention back to the speaker phone, "Mr. Tuesti, I apologize but it seems I must cut this short. You will continue to receive donations from Shinra Co. at the present time, but I do urge you to consider my offer of partnership. The Shinra name can bring W.R.O. the level of authority it needs in these unstable times."

"I will, Mr. Shinra, however I must speak with the other shareholders first."

"I understand. Have a good evening." As soon as he had turned off the device, a soldier opened the office door, "Don't you know how to knock?"

"Apologies sir, but this is urgent. We need to get you off the premises immediately!"

A blond eyebrow rose as the businessman frowned, "On what grounds officer?"

"It's the prisoner, sir! He's..." The man was cut off as a clawed hand wrapped around his head and pulled him out of the doorway.

Rufus quickly covered his surprise as a large creature entered his office, tattered red wings folded upon its back, "Chaos, I presume."

The demon gave a fanged grin, this human was surprisingly calm. Blue eyes gave Chaos a cool look, as though the demon was late for a meeting. No matter though, he would be squirming soon enough. "Shinra, I believe these mutts belong to you."

The broken and unconscious forms of Tseng and Reno were tossed unceremoniously onto Rufus' desk. Golden eyes carefully watched the blond man, relishing the shock that registered briefly in the glue gaze. "Good, you know fear." Chaos stepped around the wooden desk as Rufus stood, backing away from the approaching demon. The blond attempted to pull a gun from his jacket but it was quickly knocked out of his grasp and he found himself pinned to the wall by a golden claw at his throat. "The host wishes to speak with you, but don't worry," the demon gave another fanged grin, "I won't be far."

Golden eyes quickly reverted to scarlet as Rufus squirmed in the relentless grasp. He stilled as the sickening crunch of bones entered his mind. He paled as he watched the crimson wings pull back into Vincent's body and blood flowed from the open wounds in the gunman's back. The skin quickly sealed over, leaving only scars where the wings had once been, but the red liquid was still pooled at the two men's feet. Vincent calmly appraised the businessman's slightly green face, "Easier to swallow such horrors and atrocities when they are on paper and not staring you in the eyes, isn't it Mr. Shinra?"

"How..." Rufus gasped in the tight grip, "How did..."

"How did I escape? Hojo's files were correct but when one's body is subjected to such things on a daily, if not hourly, basis, one starts to build an immunity to such things," Vincent shrugged as the lie easily came to him. "Now as to why I am still standing here and you are not dead. You do realize that right now, I simply have to squeeze and your pitiful existence would cease to be, right?"

To prove his point, the gunman added a small amount of pressure, causing the blond to cough, "You see, I realize that somewhere in you there is still a small amount of humanity, a chance that you can do something good with your life. However, that will not come at the cost of toying with other's lives, do I make myself clear?"

Rufus gave the smallest of nods before Vincent continued, "If I hear that you have done otherwise, your humanity will cease to exist to me. I will consider you a monster and that puts us on even terms. I am a monster that takes the other monsters down, understand?" Another small nod, "Good."

Rufus felt the metal appendage move away from his neck and he fell to his knees, staining the white suit in crimson fluid. He moved his gaze over the gunman, pausing when he recognized a gleam of silver in the black gloved hand. A wry laugh issued from the raven haired man, "Ah, now we get to the next part of our conversation. I want all files and equipment that Hojo and Shinra has on all of the members of AVALANCHE sent to Seventh Heaven by dawn. If you don't, or if you attempt to harm any of my companions, I will hunt you down and," There was a pause and blue eyes widened as a flash of gold entered the gunman's gaze, "I promise we WON'T kill you."

The sound of booted footsteps caught Vincent's attention, bringing a hard look to the scarlet eyes. 'I believe it is time to make our leave Chaos.'

'FINE BY ME. THIS GAME IS GETTING BORING ANYWAYS. I CAN MAKE THE RETURN TRIP EASIER, BUT YOU HAVE TO TRUST ME AGAIN.' Vincent frowned but nodded as the soldiers flooded the office. Quickly turning toward the large bay window, he removed Death Penalty from its holster. The glass shattered easily from the single shot and the gunman took a running leap as several soldiers drew there weapons. He smirked as he heard Rufus shout, "Hold your fire! Get a medic team here immediately and make sure they have Cure materia."

Anything else was lost to the wind as large wings once again sprouted painfully from the gunman's back. He reveled in the sensation of flight while maintaining his own body. In less than half an hour, he landed in a dark alleyway behind Seventh Heaven. Vincent waited for the wings to fully retract before entering the kitchen doorway. A loud shriek greeted him as Tifa dropped several plates. Cloud quickly entered from the bar, blade drawn and ready. He paused when he saw the dark gunman, bloodied and swaying on his feet. "Vincent? What happened? Are you alright?"

The gunman nodded, his voice heavy with exhaustion, "Shinra won't be causing us any more trouble now. If he knows what's good for him anyway." He was vaguely aware of arms wrapping around him as he gave in to unconsciousness. Perhaps for once, his dreams would be as silent as the demons.

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A/N: Ack! So many reviews! *twitch twitch* I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!

SapphireMateria
GAHHH!!! ICAN'TBELIEVEIFOUNDANOTHERAUTHORTOSTALK!!!! XXD *Glomps you like there's no tommorrow* XD While I was reading, I sense a little hint of Seph/Vin (the collar part XD) And my mind exploded. ^^; lol XD I ABSOLUTELY LOVE YOU STORY AND I WILL STALK YOU TILL YOU UPDATE XXD lolz X3 prepare to be stalked. X3

Vincent: *sighs*

?

Sephiroth: *shakes head and sigh*

???

Vincent: let's go for a shower.

Sephiroth: *smirk*

Fangirls including me: *nosebleeds and faints in a pool of our own blood*

XD
Frizz: o_O...<_<...>_>...O_o *throws a large batch of chocolate chip cookies for a distraction and runs for the bathroom* Hehehehe MINE!

SapphireMateria
O_O Oh dear... Tseng and reno's in deep shit... xD If only sephy would come to the rescue and 'put' Vincent in his place... XD Update soon! XD
Frizz: Yes, they are in a lot of trouble. Don't worry too much, there is still quite a bit to go so who knows who you might see.

SapphireDog
oh no. RENO is in deep shit now XD haha Now maybe we can see if his hair matches his blood? XDCan't wait! XD
Frizz: Yep, both boys are...I couldn't resist thrashing them a little but you know how Turks are. They'll be right back like nothing happened.

Anonymous Sister of the Author
don't be mean to da fangirl!!!!!

OH NO!! what's chaos gonna do to reno?!?! is his blood really the same color as his hair???

UPDATE SOON PLEASE!!

ASOTA
Frizz: I promise I won't be mean to you, scout's honor. :P *throws a whipped cream pie in ASOTA's face* that's not mean, that's just plain fun.

Ainaloth
Yay! Still the most interesting fic I'm reading right now!! Although I missed Yazoo the last two chapters.. *pitiful sob* Let Chaos have a go at him neh? ;)) A smexy go! *cackle* Or Seph? Or Tseng? Or...ok...shutting up now. I think you understand I've got a thing for Yazoo...uke-Yazoo... *_* *drooool*

Keep up the great work!! *glomp*
Frizz: Uke-Yazoo is awesome and sorry for the lack of smexy stuff ATM but don't worry, there will be several bits before the end.

Cannibal and Jamie
Yyyyyeaaaah boy! Get medieval on his ass!
Frizz: *imagines Chaos on a warhorse with a spiked mace in hand* Ummmmm...hehe *sweatdrops* let's leave good old Chaos as he is*

Kuragari
O.O NOOOOO!!!! EVIL EVIL EVIL PLACE TO STOP!!! RUN RENO RUN!!!!! please update soon,..,.. i worried.... a little... a lot... PLEASE UPDATE!!!
Frizz: Mwahahaha! My evilness knows no bounds! and don't worry, Reno will be up and at 'em in no time at all.